


all your perfect imperfections

by ariadne_odair



Series: Just close your eyes, the sun is going down [3]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: :), Alternate Universe - High School, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Merlin has a kitty cat called Killargah, Protective Arthur, Sickfic, sick Merlin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-12
Updated: 2014-04-12
Packaged: 2018-01-19 02:11:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1451587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariadne_odair/pseuds/ariadne_odair
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I can't stay here, I've got school," Arthur says, patting his head, and Merlin pouts, grabbing his wrist. "Pleeaseee, Arthur. Stay."</p><p>Obviously, ill Merlin isn't rational Merlin. Arthur kind of wants to punch himself about how cute Merlin is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	all your perfect imperfections

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ghetta90](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghetta90/gifts).



> It was a request so I did it :) story of my life really. Comments and kudos would be lovely :)

When it gets to quarter past seven on Friday morning, and Arthur  _still_ hasn't got any texts from Merlin, he's slightly worried. It's not like Arthur is freaky protective or anything, but Merlin is  _never_ silent, even when they're not face to face. The radio silence is  _weird._

"Why are you moping?" Morgana asks from opposite him, neatly buttering her toast. Her hair is down, gentling curving round her shoulders, and Arthur feels a rush of affection for his adopted sister. "You look like you've swallowed a lemon. Is this about Merlin? Hasn't your phone beeped about six times by now, and you sit there looking all mushy, then Dad walks in and you practically have a heart attack."

"I don't," Arthur says automatically, then shrugs under Morgana's keen gaze, "But yeah. Normally, by now he's sent me about six pictures of Kilgharrah."

Morgana stares at him. "What the hell's a killer gar?"

"Kil-gar-rah," Arthur says slowly, "It's Merlin's beast of a cat. I don't even know where he got from, but the thing's a freak. It always knows when we're having sex, 'cause it comes and scratches at the door. It's like it can predict the future."

"Okay, firstly, I didn't need to know about you and Merlin have sex. Ever," Morgana says, waving her knife at him, "Secondly, I like cats. I'm sure it's not that bad."

Arthur slides his phone out from his pocket, tapping in the lock combination. He smiles slightly when he sees his background photo - he and Merlin, grinning at the camera. Merlin's wearing Arthur's aviators, while Arthur's wearing Merlin's scarf, and they're both laughing. Arthur thumbs through his albums, then clicks on a photo. "Look."

Morgana looks at the photo. "Is it missing an  _ear?"_

"Yep," Arthur says glumly, "And a toe. But Merlin loves it, so every morning he sends me loads and loads of pictures of it. Or a photo of the view out of his window, or his toaster. He  _always_ texts me."

"Maybe he's just busy," Morgana suggests, "What you think he's dropped off the edge of the Earth?"

Arthur laughs despite his growing anxiety. "If anyone could, it'd be Merlin."

 

 

"Hello, Arthur," Hunith says as she opens the door. Hunith is always smiling, even though Arthur knows how hard she works. She's dressed in her nurse scrubs, the blue uniform making her skin look especially pale. "I meant to call you, Merlin's ill. He won't be going to school today."

Arthur can feel himself begin to panic, stomach lurching at Hunith's words. "Is he okay? Has he hurt himself?"

"No, I think it's just a fever," Hunith soothes him, placing a hand on Arthur's shoulder, "He's got a sore throat and his head hurts. He's not really eating, but it's nothing serious." She pauses, and Arthur can see the regret on her brow, the worry etched in her face. It makes Arthur miss his own mother, in a bitter sweet sort of way. "I can't stay with him, but he'll be fine."

"I can stay with him," Arthur offers immediately, heart jumping, "Well, not this morning, I have school. But I have free periods fourth and fifth, and sixth formers are allowed to go home, so."

"That would be very sweet of you," Hunith says, smiling at him. "You can go on up if you want, but I think he's still asleep."

Merlin's house is small, smaller than Arthur's, but it's cosy. There's brightly coloured rugs to cover the cold spots, there's pictures of Merlin and Hunith everywhere, even some of Merlin's father, who died when Merlin was only five. Arthur knows the kitchen fridge is covered in drawings Merlin did as a child, stick figures and messy blobs of vivid colour.

Merlin's room is dark when he pushes the door open, the light of the bed side lamp dimmed by the shut curtains. Arthur can just see Merlin's book shelves, his tiny TV, the big stack of course work books by the wardrobe. There's a familiar lump curled up under Merlin's duvet, and Arthur is able to make out the outline of his sleepy boyfriend.

"Hey, Merlin," Arthur says quietly, shuffling over to the bed. He carefully rests a hand on top of Merlin' still form. Kilgarrah is sitting on the bed, blinking at him. Arthur flips him off. 

"Arthur?" Merlin says hoarsely, head peaking out above the duvet. Arthur's stomach clenches at the sight of him; Merlin's cheeks are flushed red, his brow sweaty with strands of hair sticking to it, his pyjama top crumpled from where's he's been tossing and turning. "What are you doing here?"

"Your Mum told me you were ill," Arthur replies, gently pushing back the strands of Merlin's hair, "Are you okay?"

"Don't want to go to school," Merlin mutters, flinging himself back down onto the mattress, "Feel sick."

"You don't have to go to school," Arthur reassures him, fingers continuing to card through Merlin's hair. 

"No school," Merlin insists, his eyes glassy, "For  _you._ Stay here." 

"I can't stay here, I've got school," Arthur says, patting his head, and Merlin pouts, grabbing his wrist. "Pleeaseee, Arthur. Stay."

Obviously, ill Merlin isn't rational Merlin. Arthur kind of wants to punch himself about how cute Merlin is; he's like a disgruntled kitten, hair sticking up at all angles, eyes unfocused, grip tight on his wrist. "Arthur," Merlin whines again, and Arthur bites back a laugh. "Stay. We can have a sleepover with Kilgarrah."

"That's not exactly tempting, babe," Arthur says gently, and Merlin scowls at him. He wrinkles his nose, sticking his tongue out.

"Go 'way," Merlin mutters, eyes closing, "You're being mean. Don't want to be your friend any more."

"Right," Arthur smiles, shaking his head, "I'm going to school, but I'll be back a bit later, 'kay?"

Merlin makes a little snuffling noise, pulling the covers over his head. Arthur smiles down at him, leaning down to kiss his hot forehead. It's like when adults get all sentimental when they see babies - (well, some adults. He can't see Uther cooing down at a screaming toddler,) - only this is the Merlin effect. Arthur's reduced to a gooey mess whenever Merlin's coughing and shaking.

He's never telling Morgana about this.

 

A paper ball hits the back of his head in Economics.

Well, the third ball of paper, because Gwaine's an idiot that won't leave him _alone._

Arthur unwraps the ball of paper with a resigned sigh, only to see a drawing of him and Merlin. Again. This time, Merlin is Sleeping Beauty and Arthur is the prince. At least Arthur assumes he's the prince, as the arrow pointing to Arthur reading 'Prince Prat Face' is pretty self explanatory. 

Arthur turns around to glare at Gwaine, but Gwaine's already leaning forward in his seat. "Did you like that one?" Gwaine whispers, only this is _Gwaine_ , so the entire row in front of Arthur turns around.

"No," Arthur hisses, "Stop throwing drawings at me."

"Not my fault you're distracted, mate," Gwaine grins, "I'm just saying, you're acting like Merlin is a damsel in distress. It's hilarious."

"Shut up, Gwaine," Arthur sighs, even though his cheeks are flushing, "And stop throwing paper at me, or I'll make you do suicide runs for the next six football practises."

"You'll make me do suicide runs, anyway," Gwaine whines, "C'mon, I bet you're already making a list of get well supplies. Ibuprofen, tissues, lube for 'I'll make you better' sex - "

"Shut up, Gwaine!" Arthur hisses, bright red now. He wonders if the ground would swallow him up if he prayed nicely.

"Just saying," Gwaine begins, which is  _never_ a good opening. Gwaine is never just saying - Gwaine is always just accusing, or just laughing, or just being a general shit. "I walked in on you that time, and the care in which you - "

The girl next to Gwaine slams her book on the desk. Gwaine almost falls out his chair at the sudden noise.

"Could you  _please,"_ the girl says - Evie or Emily, Arthur can't quite remember, "Please, not extol the virtues of make up gay sex for this entire lesson? Last week you spent an hour talking about the precision needed to rim properly, I don't think I can take another hour of listening to you praise Merlin's arse."

The class is very silent. Everyone has turned around to stare at Gwaine and Arthur. Arthur tries not to throw himself out the window."

Gwaine blinks. "Um, okay?"

"Thank you," the girl says, with the grace of a queen, then turns Arthur, "Tell Merlin I hope he gets better soon."

"Right," Arthur says, "I will," and doesn't speak for the rest of the lesson.

When the bell finally rings, Arthur waits until everyone has left before packing up. Gwaine hangs behind, grinning at him. They walk quietly down the corridor, until Gwaine says "Sooo, you're going round there now, right?"

Arthur pushes him into the lockers.

 

 

Arthur lets himself into Merlin's house quietly. He almost trips over Kilaggah the moment he steps in - the cat's sitting directly in front of the door. Arthur glares at him; Kilaggah tries to claw the skin off his leg. 

Merlin's awake when he enters his room, sitting up in bed with  _Iron Man 2_ playing quietly in the background. "Your cat's a psycho," Arthur tells him as he kicks his shoes off, and Merlin looks up, grinning in a way that makes Arthur's heart beat faster.

"He's a _stray_ ," Merlin sniffs, but his eyes are amused, "He's probably had a traumatic childhood."

"Tony Stark had a traumatic childhood," Arthur points out, "And he didn't try to claw my leg off."

Merlin's about to argue, when he starts coughing, deep racking coughs that shake his fragile body. Arthur rushes to him straight away, crouching down by the side of the bed. He rubs circles on Merlin's back, whilst reaching for the water he picked up on the way home. "Hey, do you want a drink?"

Merlin nods, eyes watering, and Arthur helps himself take a sip, gently supporting his head. "Thanks," Merlin says, voice cracked, "You're a peach."

Arthur laughs, gently climbing onto the bed. He crosses his legs beneath him, resting his head back against the head board. "You feeling better?"

"A little," Merlin says, tucking his knees into his chest, "My throat still hurts, but I don't feel like throwing up my lungs any more." He pauses, shooting Arthur a sideways look. "Was I - did I say anything embarrassing this morning? My head was so fuzzy, I can't remember anything."

"No," Arthur says, a beat too slow, and Merlin groans. Arthur laughs, grinning, and Merlin pinches his thigh. "Stop laughing! I can't remember any of it!"

"Don't worry about it," Arthur laughs, and he can't help himself, reaching out to cup Merlin's cheek, thumb running over his cheek bone. Merlin's skin is warm, though a little cooler than earlier. He yawns, thick eyelashes resting against his flushed cheeks, and Arthur feels a little tug in his chest.

"Do you want to lay down for a bit?" Arthur asks gently, and even he can hear how fond his tone is. Merlin yawns, nose scrunching in an adorable way, dark bruises under his eyes revealing his exhaustion.

Arthur pats his lap, and Merlin slides down the bed. He rests his head on Arthur's thigh, closing his eyes, and Arthur pets his hair, combing through the errant strands. Merlin exhales gently, Arthur tugging gently at the hair at the nape of his neck. The room is dim, the only sound Tony Stark flying around in the background, Merlin's breathing slow and even in the quiet.

"Love you," Arthur whispers, throat thick, and his hand stills in Merlin's hair. It's not like he hasn't said it before, but he doesn't say it often, and as they sit there, Merlin quiet and contemplative in his lap, he realises he probably should.

"Love you too," Merlin mumbles, voice heavy with sleep, then ruins it by saying "Love Kilarragah more though."

Arthur's about to shout at him, but Merlin's already asleep. 

**Author's Note:**

> Drop me a line if you liked it, and feel free to leave your own requests :) I won't do all of them but I may do some if there is time :)


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